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Deuteronomy 21:1-9 a programmatic anomaly? : a thematic and programmatic analysis of Deuteronomy 21:1-9 within the context of the Deuteronomist’s agenda

Robinson, A. G. (2016-02-18)

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.

Thesis

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Deuteronomy 21:1-9 falls within the Deuteronomic legal corpus and, more broadly,
within the Deuteronomistic History. Its final form, as recognized by several scholars,
betrays an origin of earlier antiquity than the immediate context of Deuteronomy
suggests. Further to this, the nature of the ritual, frequently called the “’egla ritual”,
appears at first reading, to disobey some of the basic tenets of the laws of
Deuteronomy and this bears some investigation. At the heart of the book of
Deuteronomy is “the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes
to put his name and make his habitation there” (The Holy Bible: English Standard
Version, 2001, Deut 12:5). This centralized place of worship is the place where all
cultic activity is to occur. The importance of this “place” is highlighted by the fact that
the notion is unique to the Deuteronomistic History (Deut to 2 Kings) and is
presented to the exclusion of any local sanctuary for worship. The allowing of secular
slaughter of animals for food in Deuteronomy 12:15 further highlights this cultic
centralization motif, by making the local slaughter of animals non-cultic. The
appearance of the “’egla ritual”, in which there is the killing of an animal in a local
context for what appear to be cultic purposes, seems to disobey this fundamental
prescription of the Deuteronomistic work reinforced throughout the Deuteronomistic
History in the evaluation of the kings.
Further to this oddity, there is the matter of the clumsiness of the inclusion of the
priests in verse 5, which seem to serve no cultic purpose; the need for both judges
and elders in the act of measurement in verse 2; and the hand-washing
accompanied by what appears to be an oath formula. This local rite, then, seems to
stick out from the centralizing YHWHistic landscape of Deuteronomy as somewhat
anomalous and begs the question, “does it belong?”
To answer this question, more clearly formulated in the title of this study, the specific
aims or agendas of the Deuteronomist are ascertained and defined in order to
discover how these agendas agree with the ritual. These are defined as, firstly, the
divesting of the monarchy of sovereign power; secondly, the centralization of the
Cult; and thirdly, the reassignment of the jurisdiction of the judiciary from the
monarch to the cult. A detailed exegesis follows, after which the “’egla ritual” is
specifically examined with regard to the agendas of the Deuteronomist.
It is concluded that the “’egla ritual”, having undergone a lengthy process of
development, appears as thoroughly Deuteronomistic in its final form. Its chief
impact however, since it is neither cultic, nor entirely judicial, since it fails to deal with
the guilt of the unknown perpetrator of the killing, is of a socially formative nature.
This too would appear to be congruent with the apparent purpose of the
Deuteronomist in presenting legislation for a new social, political and geographical
context.
The “’egla ritual” is thus not a programmatic anomaly since it accords with the chief agendas of the Deuteronomist.